100 Favorite Dishes, No. 35: The Burger At Boulevardier

To prepare for this fall's Best of Dallas® 2014 issue, we're counting down (in no particular order) our 100 Favorite Dishes. If there's a dish you think we need to try, leave it in the comments, or email me.

The last thing I needed this weekend was a burger. I had steak and eggs for breakfast that morning and my body was plenty good on animal protein. The problem was, I really wanted to put the Boulevardier burger on my 100 Favorites List -- I'm convinced it's one of the city's best -- and I hadn't torn into one over a year. This is Dallas, the burger capital of the universe, and I had to be sure Boulevardier's offering still passed muster.

I downed one out on the patio in 39 seconds.

The Tate Farms grass fed burger isn't the juiciest burger I've ever eaten, but it's far from dry, and the patty is cooked over a wood-fired grill that imparts a serious char and smokiness. The sweet pickles are made on-site and lightly kissed with sherry vinaigrette along with lettuce and tomato slices. That bacon is as crunchy as bacon can be without being desiccated, and the cheese is fused to the patty under a salamander so it blisters and browns.

It's a very good burger -- even if you've eaten a steak or even another burger the same day. And burger gods be damned if you were actually order this burger when you're having a serious burger craving the world would come to a standstill when you cradled that bun in your hands. These are moments that stay with you.